This new Polaris, believed to be named "Slingshot," is looking to capture a niche market of people who are drawn by the open nature of a motorcycle but worry about the inherent risk of falling over. A reverse trike design like this isn't groundbreaking, however, considering models like the Campagna T-Rex have been around for years. And let's not forget others like the aforementioned Spyder and even the Morgan three-wheeler.

Of course, another reason why Polaris might be looking down the three-wheeled track is because it would allow the company to have a road-legal "car" without having to spend the mega bucks required to pass stringent government mandated safety tests like traditional four-wheelers. A three-wheeled vehicle, technically, is generally classified under the law as a motorcycle.

But back to the Slingshot. The patent specifies its chassis will be an open-cockpit, tube-frame design, utilizing car-like bodywork including a hood and fenders. Sticking to the car theme, it will have a steering wheel instead of handlebars, double A-arm front suspension and a windscreen for both driver and passenger.

This new Polaris, believed to be named "Slingshot," is looking to capture a niche market of people who are drawn by the open nature of a motorcycle but worry about the inherent risk of falling over. A reverse trike design like this isn't groundbreaking, however, considering models like the Campagna T-Rex have been around for years. And let's not forget others like the aforementioned Spyder and even the Morgan three-wheeler.

Of course, another reason why Polaris might be looking down the three-wheeled track is because it would allow the company to have a road-legal "car" without having to spend the mega bucks required to pass stringent government mandated safety tests like traditional four-wheelers. A three-wheeled vehicle, technically, is generally classified under the law as a motorcycle.

But back to the Slingshot. The patent specifies its chassis will be an open-cockpit, tube-frame design, utilizing car-like bodywork including a hood and fenders. Sticking to the car theme, it will have a steering wheel instead of handlebars, double A-arm front suspension and a windscreen for both driver and passenger.

In the U.S., Brammo and Zero are the two main players offering road-legal electric motorcycles for under $10,000, a price considered attainable by average consumers. Though their flagship models, the Empulse and S models, respectively, are priced considerably higher.

But by no means are Brammo and Zero the only e-bike players out there. Lightning, Native, BRD and Brutus are but four other American manufacturers producing electric motorcycles. Across the pond, Italian manufacturer eCRP is the first European firm to bring a production e-bike to market, while Austrian KTM will likely be the first to enter e-bike production among the major OEMs with the off-road Freeride-E.

But while we're noticing e-bikes gain in popularity, questions persist: Will they merely carve a small niche and go no further? Will they have what it takes to earn increasing respect? Could there even come a day when they take preeminence over traditional motorcycles?

In the U.S., Brammo and Zero are the two main players offering road-legal electric motorcycles for under $10,000, a price considered attainable by average consumers. Though their flagship models, the Empulse and S models, respectively, are priced considerably higher.

But by no means are Brammo and Zero the only e-bike players out there. Lightning, Native, BRD and Brutus are but four other American manufacturers producing electric motorcycles. Across the pond, Italian manufacturer eCRP is the first European firm to bring a production e-bike to market, while Austrian KTM will likely be the first to enter e-bike production among the major OEMs with the off-road Freeride-E.

But while we're noticing e-bikes gain in popularity, questions persist: Will they merely carve a small niche and go no further? Will they have what it takes to earn increasing respect? Could there even come a day when they take preeminence over traditional motorcycles?

We MO staffers are gluttonous consumers of motorcycle technology. Active suspension, programmable engine braking, slipper clutch, cruise control, ride-by-wire throttle, quick shifter, etc., anything that makes a motorcycle go faster, handle better or enhance rider comfort opens the drool gates. The downside is that with each technological upgrade is a commensurate increase in price, elevating many modern two-wheelers beyond the financial grasp of the bourgeoisie.

Just as important, if not more so, are the motorcycles on the other end of spectrum; the affordable, nontechnical models that attract new riders into our beloved sport or keep practical riders riding. These are the bikes that perpetuate the reputation of motorcycles as fun, inexpensive modes of transportation.

While Japanese OEMs - apart from Honda and its two (possibly three) new 500cc models under $6k - struggle to offer much in the sub-$6k price range, Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers have sprung up to fill the void. Between them we managed to find 28 models from which to choose that cost less than $6k. Where possible we provided a link to a review of the current motorcycle or a review of a relatively recent model.

We MO staffers are gluttonous consumers of motorcycle technology. Active suspension, programmable engine braking, slipper clutch, cruise control, ride-by-wire throttle, quick shifter, etc., anything that makes a motorcycle go faster, handle better or enhance rider comfort opens the drool gates. The downside is that with each technological upgrade is a commensurate increase in price, elevating many modern two-wheelers beyond the financial grasp of the bourgeoisie.

Just as important, if not more so, are the motorcycles on the other end of spectrum; the affordable, nontechnical models that attract new riders into our beloved sport or keep practical riders riding. These are the bikes that perpetuate the reputation of motorcycles as fun, inexpensive modes of transportation.

While Japanese OEMs - apart from Honda and its two (possibly three) new 500cc models under $6k - struggle to offer much in the sub-$6k price range, Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers have sprung up to fill the void. Between them we managed to find 28 models from which to choose that cost less than $6k. Where possible we provided a link to a review of the current motorcycle or a review of a relatively recent model.

So, on a purely subjective basis, we comprised a list of our favorite motorcycle sounds. Exhaust notes change according to OEM or aftermarket manufacturer, but regardless of muffler configuration, these bikes sound good in any guise.

Impossible to include everything - and there's a lot of apparent omissions - the following list is a celebration of sound, not a definitive proclamation of what comprises a good sound.

1. Honda RC166 - 250cc DOHC inline six-cylinder with six individual unbaffled megaphone exhaust pipes. Each cylinder displaces a mere 41.6cc and the engine redlines at an astounding 18,000 rpm. This motorcycle howls like no other two-wheeler. Hearing this bike in-person, under acceleration should be on every biker's bucket list.

So, on a purely subjective basis, we comprised a list of our favorite motorcycle sounds. Exhaust notes change according to OEM or aftermarket manufacturer, but regardless of muffler configuration, these bikes sound good in any guise.

Impossible to include everything - and there's a lot of apparent omissions - the following list is a celebration of sound, not a definitive proclamation of what comprises a good sound.

1. Honda RC166 - 250cc DOHC inline six-cylinder with six individual unbaffled megaphone exhaust pipes. Each cylinder displaces a mere 41.6cc and the engine redlines at an astounding 18,000 rpm. This motorcycle howls like no other two-wheeler. Hearing this bike in-person, under acceleration should be on every biker's bucket list.

For me this event is one big adventure as I've never been to the north of Norway apart from in my army days. Since this is just around midsummer, it's daylight 24/7 up north whilst the south of the country gets 3-4 hours of darkness, hence we have daylight all the way and arrive around 10PM.

Arctic Circle Raceway is situated on an old iron ore mining area, and large parts of the circuit are situated on pure landfill mass from the mining. It was fascinating walking around the circuit where in certain areas you can see how a small valley has been filled with rock. Because of this man-made cliff from the top of the landfill to the bottom of the valley, the circuit goes anti-clockwise whilst it was built as a clockwise circuit. At the end of the very short straight you risked being slung over the barriers and down into this deep valley, whilst now on the other side of the pit straight you'd only hit the side of a mountain...

The circuit was finished in 1995 and it is Norway's fastest, widest and most modern circuit. I'd call it the world's wildest and most remote circuit. Whilst we were there elk cows were roosting in the sun trackside with their calves, and the entire circuit is surrounded by forest and snow-topped mountains. Crucially there are no people living near to the circuit, so there's rarely any need to reduce noise levels. Most importantly is the fact that this circuit is a very exciting place to race motorbikes and the tarmac is very sticky and solid to withstand the frost during the long and cold winters. The circuit is 3,753 metres long and the official lap record is 1:30.993.

For me this event is one big adventure as I've never been to the north of Norway apart from in my army days. Since this is just around midsummer, it's daylight 24/7 up north whilst the south of the country gets 3-4 hours of darkness, hence we have daylight all the way and arrive around 10PM.

Arctic Circle Raceway is situated on an old iron ore mining area, and large parts of the circuit are situated on pure landfill mass from the mining. It was fascinating walking around the circuit where in certain areas you can see how a small valley has been filled with rock. Because of this man-made cliff from the top of the landfill to the bottom of the valley, the circuit goes anti-clockwise whilst it was built as a clockwise circuit. At the end of the very short straight you risked being slung over the barriers and down into this deep valley, whilst now on the other side of the pit straight you'd only hit the side of a mountain...

The circuit was finished in 1995 and it is Norway's fastest, widest and most modern circuit. I'd call it the world's wildest and most remote circuit. Whilst we were there elk cows were roosting in the sun trackside with their calves, and the entire circuit is surrounded by forest and snow-topped mountains. Crucially there are no people living near to the circuit, so there's rarely any need to reduce noise levels. Most importantly is the fact that this circuit is a very exciting place to race motorbikes and the tarmac is very sticky and solid to withstand the frost during the long and cold winters. The circuit is 3,753 metres long and the official lap record is 1:30.993.

But during the launch of the updated 2012 Gold Wing, we were reminded that its surplus of luxurious amenities doesn't preclude the ability to tear up a twisty road. Our group of Wing riders departed North Carolina's infamous Tail of the Dragon just in front of a Suzuki DR-Z400 supermoto, and I expected it to quickly pass us on one of the Dragon's 318 corners in 11 miles. But the surprisingly sporty Wing was never overtaken.

Contributor Josh Placa has also been thinking about the luxury-touring class, and he shares his views below. -Kevin Duke, Editor-in-Chief

But during the launch of the updated 2012 Gold Wing, we were reminded that its surplus of luxurious amenities doesn't preclude the ability to tear up a twisty road. Our group of Wing riders departed North Carolina's infamous Tail of the Dragon just in front of a Suzuki DR-Z400 supermoto, and I expected it to quickly pass us on one of the Dragon's 318 corners in 11 miles. But the surprisingly sporty Wing was never overtaken.

Contributor Josh Placa has also been thinking about the luxury-touring class, and he shares his views below. -Kevin Duke, Editor-in-Chief

Motocross is a fun sport for riders young and old, but it can also be very dangerous. Wearing the proper protective gear will help keep you safe but it will also give you the peace of mind to have fun.

Some items are absolute must-haves such as a helmet, boots and gloves. Other items, such as chest protectors, aren't mandatory but they are a good idea. And there are items like neck braces and knee braces for those who want the added protection or those who are serious about getting into competitive motocross racing.

Here are some of the things you should look for when buying motocross protective gear.

Motocross is a fun sport for riders young and old, but it can also be very dangerous. Wearing the proper protective gear will help keep you safe but it will also give you the peace of mind to have fun.

Some items are absolute must-haves such as a helmet, boots and gloves. Other items, such as chest protectors, aren't mandatory but they are a good idea. And there are items like neck braces and knee braces for those who want the added protection or those who are serious about getting into competitive motocross racing.

Here are some of the things you should look for when buying motocross protective gear.

Fans of the original Indian motorcycle often like to remind their Harley buddies that their Springfield splendor preceded production of the Milwaukee marvel by two years; Indian first appeared in 1901, Harley-Davidson in 1903.

But both Indian and Harley were upstaged in the history books (generally unread, it appears), by a Massachusetts bicycle concern called the Waltham Manufacturing Company founded in 1893 by one Charles H. Metz. The name of his machine, and rightful heir to the title "first USA production motorcycle" was the Orient-Aster, better known simply as the Orient. The Aster relates to the machine's French-built engine, a copy of the ubiquitous DeDion-Bouton.

Fans of the original Indian motorcycle often like to remind their Harley buddies that their Springfield splendor preceded production of the Milwaukee marvel by two years; Indian first appeared in 1901, Harley-Davidson in 1903.

But both Indian and Harley were upstaged in the history books (generally unread, it appears), by a Massachusetts bicycle concern called the Waltham Manufacturing Company founded in 1893 by one Charles H. Metz. The name of his machine, and rightful heir to the title "first USA production motorcycle" was the Orient-Aster, better known simply as the Orient. The Aster relates to the machine's French-built engine, a copy of the ubiquitous DeDion-Bouton.

To tell the story of our two-wheel world, we enlisted the services of bike historian Paul Garson who begins his Motorcycle Milestones series with a look back at the origins of the species that stretches over the 19th century. -Ed.

Motorcycle Pre-History - the 1800s

"Before the beginning of great brilliance and beauty there first must be a period of complete chaos." - I Ching

To tell the story of our two-wheel world, we enlisted the services of bike historian Paul Garson who begins his Motorcycle Milestones series with a look back at the origins of the species that stretches over the 19th century. -Ed.

Motorcycle Pre-History - the 1800s

"Before the beginning of great brilliance and beauty there first must be a period of complete chaos." - I Ching

Traditionally, in regions where the winter thermometer dips below freezing, many riders would prep and store their motorcycles, not wanting to brave sub-zero wind chill.

That made a lot of sense in times past, but now more than ever, a plethora of winter riding suits, windproof gloves, headgear - and best of all: electrically heated head-to-toe gear - can make cold weather riding a do-able proposition.

On the other hand, if you don't want to go through the effort, that's fine, too. Perhaps you're already sure the cold season is better spent doing something else.

Traditionally, in regions where the winter thermometer dips below freezing, many riders would prep and store their motorcycles, not wanting to brave sub-zero wind chill.

That made a lot of sense in times past, but now more than ever, a plethora of winter riding suits, windproof gloves, headgear - and best of all: electrically heated head-to-toe gear - can make cold weather riding a do-able proposition.

On the other hand, if you don't want to go through the effort, that's fine, too. Perhaps you're already sure the cold season is better spent doing something else.

You're not hallucinating... the people seen with this bike are not elves. It's the bike that's gone hormonal. As they say in its place of manufacture, German... it's Ungeheur! A Monster! But as far as we can tell it's not packing any armament, guns or otherwise, however the name GUNBUS 410 does somewhat qualify. It's almost as a big as a "bus" thanks to its Paul Bunyanesque size.

Built by a company called Leonhardt Manufacturing, named for its founder Clemens Leonhardt, the GUNBUS 410 is massive in all proportions including the design theory and fabrication process that went into its creation. And it's not merely a concept bike just for show. It's passed all the strict German testing procedures and is street legal and stands tall as the world's largest ridden motorcycle. While measuring 11.3 feet in length, you climb into a saddle with a reasonable seat height of 31.5 inches (same as a Buell). A triple set of 310 mm disc brakes bring the 1433 lb. monster to a halt.

You're not hallucinating... the people seen with this bike are not elves. It's the bike that's gone hormonal. As they say in its place of manufacture, German... it's Ungeheur! A Monster! But as far as we can tell it's not packing any armament, guns or otherwise, however the name GUNBUS 410 does somewhat qualify. It's almost as a big as a "bus" thanks to its Paul Bunyanesque size.

Built by a company called Leonhardt Manufacturing, named for its founder Clemens Leonhardt, the GUNBUS 410 is massive in all proportions including the design theory and fabrication process that went into its creation. And it's not merely a concept bike just for show. It's passed all the strict German testing procedures and is street legal and stands tall as the world's largest ridden motorcycle. While measuring 11.3 feet in length, you climb into a saddle with a reasonable seat height of 31.5 inches (same as a Buell). A triple set of 310 mm disc brakes bring the 1433 lb. monster to a halt.

The quick summary: new motorcycle. The components that missed our first race were crucial to the overall qualities of the supersport racer we built (to see more information on these components and their installation, see Parts 6 and 7 of the Road Racing Series).

Brembo HP Brake Components

"You really like your brakes don't you," said the Motorcycle Xcitement instructor Ed Rodriguez who had been trailing me through Summit's corners, noticing how as the pads set in on the new rotors, I was braking later, deeper and harder to the point that he could see the rear of my motorcycle getting light as I entered the turns.

The quick summary: new motorcycle. The components that missed our first race were crucial to the overall qualities of the supersport racer we built (to see more information on these components and their installation, see Parts 6 and 7 of the Road Racing Series).

Brembo HP Brake Components

"You really like your brakes don't you," said the Motorcycle Xcitement instructor Ed Rodriguez who had been trailing me through Summit's corners, noticing how as the pads set in on the new rotors, I was braking later, deeper and harder to the point that he could see the rear of my motorcycle getting light as I entered the turns.

"Believe it or not, your first-race experience isn't really uncommon," Editor-In-Chief Duke offered on the Monday after. "Despite best intentions, a first race is always fraught with tension and some measure of unpreparedness for the entire experience. Although your back-of-the-pack finishes aren't what you'd hoped for, they are much preferable to wadding up your bike in the hapless pursuit of initial glory. Your next race weekend will undoubtedly go much smoother, leaving your mind free to explore where you can trim chunks off your lap times."

This series was introduced as the "The 'How Not To' Guide to Getting Started in Road Racing." Here are some lessons learned, some things that I would do different the second time around, a heads-up for those preparing to race so they can hopefully avoid the mistakes I made:

1. Choose a smaller, underpowered motorcycle as your first race bike. Using a 600cc four-cylinder Supersport motorcycle puts you in the most crowded and competitive class on the track. These models are updated every two years, so a three-year-old motorcycle is getting long in the tooth. The eight-year-old 748 we built was a Roman chariot. Not only are these models falling off manufacturer's contingency requirement, the availability of aftermarket performance parts is beginning to wane. Many companies wanted to support our project, they just weren't making parts for the 748 anymore. Many of the parts I used are no longer available new and had to be scrounged through used outlets.

"Believe it or not, your first-race experience isn't really uncommon," Editor-In-Chief Duke offered on the Monday after. "Despite best intentions, a first race is always fraught with tension and some measure of unpreparedness for the entire experience. Although your back-of-the-pack finishes aren't what you'd hoped for, they are much preferable to wadding up your bike in the hapless pursuit of initial glory. Your next race weekend will undoubtedly go much smoother, leaving your mind free to explore where you can trim chunks off your lap times."

This series was introduced as the "The 'How Not To' Guide to Getting Started in Road Racing." Here are some lessons learned, some things that I would do different the second time around, a heads-up for those preparing to race so they can hopefully avoid the mistakes I made:

1. Choose a smaller, underpowered motorcycle as your first race bike. Using a 600cc four-cylinder Supersport motorcycle puts you in the most crowded and competitive class on the track. These models are updated every two years, so a three-year-old motorcycle is getting long in the tooth. The eight-year-old 748 we built was a Roman chariot. Not only are these models falling off manufacturer's contingency requirement, the availability of aftermarket performance parts is beginning to wane. Many companies wanted to support our project, they just weren't making parts for the 748 anymore. Many of the parts I used are no longer available new and had to be scrounged through used outlets.

I get the last parts on the bike, check the bolts one last time and decide the remaining items on the "to-do" list can wait. One hour later, the bike, along with myself and Holly are packed into the truck and heading in the direction of Virginia International Raceway. In an exhausted haze of late-night driving I miss my turn-off and find myself driving through windy, unfamiliar Virginia mountain roads. By the time we make it to the track, the first session of bikes is already warming up. It was downhill all the way, the gate attendant jokes, when I tell him I'm from northern Virginia. Yeah, I replied and my weekend will probably continue going downhill from here, I ominously predict.

I get the last parts on the bike, check the bolts one last time and decide the remaining items on the "to-do" list can wait. One hour later, the bike, along with myself and Holly are packed into the truck and heading in the direction of Virginia International Raceway. In an exhausted haze of late-night driving I miss my turn-off and find myself driving through windy, unfamiliar Virginia mountain roads. By the time we make it to the track, the first session of bikes is already warming up. It was downhill all the way, the gate attendant jokes, when I tell him I'm from northern Virginia. Yeah, I replied and my weekend will probably continue going downhill from here, I ominously predict.

You should have your racing license in your wallet before the bike is completed. Send in your application as soon as you complete your track school. Then you're ready to pick your race weekends and pre-enter. Remember, learning to race is all about track time. Enter yourself in as many races as you can afford and your body can handle. As a Supersport racer you can always "move up," entering your Supersport-spec bike in Superbike, Grand Prix or Unlimited classes. The competition is stiffer, but you'll be getting in more track time. Also, sign up for the endurance events. You've spent all of that money getting here, so you should maximize your time on the track.

Once you start racing, one of your first considerations is how to get your bike to the track. Make friends with someone who has room on their trailer, get someone to loan you a compact pick-up truck or buy a trailer that is small enough to pull behind your car. Any of these options will suffice for the beginning racer.

Your first race weekend is like your first camping trip. You take everything, afraid that you'll forget something, only to find out that you didn't bring the one thing you really need anyway. Here's a basic list:

You should have your racing license in your wallet before the bike is completed. Send in your application as soon as you complete your track school. Then you're ready to pick your race weekends and pre-enter. Remember, learning to race is all about track time. Enter yourself in as many races as you can afford and your body can handle. As a Supersport racer you can always "move up," entering your Supersport-spec bike in Superbike, Grand Prix or Unlimited classes. The competition is stiffer, but you'll be getting in more track time. Also, sign up for the endurance events. You've spent all of that money getting here, so you should maximize your time on the track.

Once you start racing, one of your first considerations is how to get your bike to the track. Make friends with someone who has room on their trailer, get someone to loan you a compact pick-up truck or buy a trailer that is small enough to pull behind your car. Any of these options will suffice for the beginning racer.

Your first race weekend is like your first camping trip. You take everything, afraid that you'll forget something, only to find out that you didn't bring the one thing you really need anyway. Here's a basic list:

Changing the bodywork on a race motorcycle is about more than cosmetics. Aftermarket pieces save weight, are more durable in the case of a crash and incorporate an oil catch pan. To fit within Supersport rules aftermarket bodywork must retain the profile of the stock plastics. Some models, like the SV650, are allowed to use a full-fairing design even though the factory model only has a half fairing.

Bodywork is one of a racer's biggest investments, and it's understandable that a racer on a budget will shop around for the best deal. Just make sure you know what you're buying. Is the bodywork made out of plastic or fiberglass? Plastic tends to be heavier, more likely to break and harder to repair. Ask a body shop man if he would rather try to repair plastic or fiberglass. Fiberglass can often be repaired at home or trackside.

Changing the bodywork on a race motorcycle is about more than cosmetics. Aftermarket pieces save weight, are more durable in the case of a crash and incorporate an oil catch pan. To fit within Supersport rules aftermarket bodywork must retain the profile of the stock plastics. Some models, like the SV650, are allowed to use a full-fairing design even though the factory model only has a half fairing.

Bodywork is one of a racer's biggest investments, and it's understandable that a racer on a budget will shop around for the best deal. Just make sure you know what you're buying. Is the bodywork made out of plastic or fiberglass? Plastic tends to be heavier, more likely to break and harder to repair. Ask a body shop man if he would rather try to repair plastic or fiberglass. Fiberglass can often be repaired at home or trackside.

As the old saying goes, "There are two kinds of racers; those who have crashed and those that are going to crash." Finding the limits of traction, then slipping past them and crashing is something to be expected, especially for a beginning racer. Just like you protect your body with a helmet and leathers you need to protect your bike from damage.

Crash protection on a race bike has a different function than it does on a street bike. It's not to protect your custom paint job when an old lady backs into your parked bike in the Wal-Mart parking lot. On a race bike it protects expensive parts like frames and engine cases. It may be the difference between having your bike back on the track later that afternoon and having your weekend end prematurely. It also keeps stray bits and pieces that could be a hazard to other riders off the track (Some tracks charge you a clean-up fee if you leave oil or coolant on the asphalt.)

As the old saying goes, "There are two kinds of racers; those who have crashed and those that are going to crash." Finding the limits of traction, then slipping past them and crashing is something to be expected, especially for a beginning racer. Just like you protect your body with a helmet and leathers you need to protect your bike from damage.

Crash protection on a race bike has a different function than it does on a street bike. It's not to protect your custom paint job when an old lady backs into your parked bike in the Wal-Mart parking lot. On a race bike it protects expensive parts like frames and engine cases. It may be the difference between having your bike back on the track later that afternoon and having your weekend end prematurely. It also keeps stray bits and pieces that could be a hazard to other riders off the track (Some tracks charge you a clean-up fee if you leave oil or coolant on the asphalt.)

With a stripped down bike in the garage and a few bucks in your pocket, it's time to start building your first race bike. Now that you know the minimum it takes to race your motorcycle, here are the three areas where you should spend your money first.

1. TiresSupersport racers must run D.O.T. legal tires, but this doesn't mean that they have to run "street" tires. Most manufacturers have a high-performance street tire and a "street legal" road-race tire. You've probably eyed them in a parts catalog, wondering if it was worth the extra $100 to put a set of Pirelli Super Corsa Pros on your street bike, rather than the plain old Diablo Sports.

Don't let the D.O.T. tag fool you. Just because these tires are street legal doesn't make them the best choice for the street. Treaded race tires are just that. They take longer to warm up (maybe never up to temperature on your stop-and-go ride to work) and they often lack the compounds that let them survive the heat cycles of day-to-day riding and exposure to the sun. Not to mention that their ultra soft tread won't give you many road miles before they're ready to be replaced.

With a stripped down bike in the garage and a few bucks in your pocket, it's time to start building your first race bike. Now that you know the minimum it takes to race your motorcycle, here are the three areas where you should spend your money first.

1. TiresSupersport racers must run D.O.T. legal tires, but this doesn't mean that they have to run "street" tires. Most manufacturers have a high-performance street tire and a "street legal" road-race tire. You've probably eyed them in a parts catalog, wondering if it was worth the extra $100 to put a set of Pirelli Super Corsa Pros on your street bike, rather than the plain old Diablo Sports.

Don't let the D.O.T. tag fool you. Just because these tires are street legal doesn't make them the best choice for the street. Treaded race tires are just that. They take longer to warm up (maybe never up to temperature on your stop-and-go ride to work) and they often lack the compounds that let them survive the heat cycles of day-to-day riding and exposure to the sun. Not to mention that their ultra soft tread won't give you many road miles before they're ready to be replaced.

Bad news. At the novice level, the rider is much more important than the bike. Chances are a stock CBR600RR in street trim will be faster than you are for your first race season. Not that your first race bike isn't important. Building a competent machine will go a long way towards getting a novice racer "up to speed" quickly.

But building that machine is a daunting task. First, you have the class rules to contend with. What does it take for your ride to be class legal? Second, unless you've landed major sponsorship before you've even ran your first race, you're on a pretty tight budget. Open a performance catalog and you're overwhelmed like a kid staring at the pages of a Sears catalog the week before Christmas.

Where does a novice racer get the most "bang for the buck" when spending their hard earned and saved racing dollars? We will try and answer these questions in a series of "build" articles that will cover everything; from the minimum you have to do to get your machine on the track to advanced Supersport modifications.

Bad news. At the novice level, the rider is much more important than the bike. Chances are a stock CBR600RR in street trim will be faster than you are for your first race season. Not that your first race bike isn't important. Building a competent machine will go a long way towards getting a novice racer "up to speed" quickly.

But building that machine is a daunting task. First, you have the class rules to contend with. What does it take for your ride to be class legal? Second, unless you've landed major sponsorship before you've even ran your first race, you're on a pretty tight budget. Open a performance catalog and you're overwhelmed like a kid staring at the pages of a Sears catalog the week before Christmas.

Where does a novice racer get the most "bang for the buck" when spending their hard earned and saved racing dollars? We will try and answer these questions in a series of "build" articles that will cover everything; from the minimum you have to do to get your machine on the track to advanced Supersport modifications.

Once you've decided which organization to race with, the only thing standing between you and going for the checkered flag is a race license. All racing organizations require that new riders have some form of schooling to prove that they have at least an elementary understanding of how to ride bar end to bar end with a pack of other motorcycles at high speed.

Accredited track schools vary from part-day licensing "clinics" to programs where you spend several days at the track. To make your selection, start by looking at the resume of the head instructor. See who their assistant instructors are, who sponsors them and who has endorsed or accredited them. Finally, talk to other people who have attended the school and get their opinions. Before making your final selection, be sure that the track school that you pick is certified by the organization that you plan to race with. Successfully completing most schools gives you a provisional racing license.

Cornerspeed is the official track school of the Virginia International Raceway, which meshed perfectly with my plans to ride my first race at the same track. With over 10 years of instruction at VIR, it is accredited by both WERA and CCS (the organization I plan to race with). Aaron Stevenson, Cornerspeed's founder and head instructor, has held an expert racing license for over 15 years and has a WERA National Vintage Superbike Championship under his belt. His instructor roster also lists several fellow champs within its ranks. The school takes its name from the statement made in its marketing literature: "Anyone can go fast in a straight line, it's corner speed that determines who wins the race."

Once you've decided which organization to race with, the only thing standing between you and going for the checkered flag is a race license. All racing organizations require that new riders have some form of schooling to prove that they have at least an elementary understanding of how to ride bar end to bar end with a pack of other motorcycles at high speed.

Accredited track schools vary from part-day licensing "clinics" to programs where you spend several days at the track. To make your selection, start by looking at the resume of the head instructor. See who their assistant instructors are, who sponsors them and who has endorsed or accredited them. Finally, talk to other people who have attended the school and get their opinions. Before making your final selection, be sure that the track school that you pick is certified by the organization that you plan to race with. Successfully completing most schools gives you a provisional racing license.

Cornerspeed is the official track school of the Virginia International Raceway, which meshed perfectly with my plans to ride my first race at the same track. With over 10 years of instruction at VIR, it is accredited by both WERA and CCS (the organization I plan to race with). Aaron Stevenson, Cornerspeed's founder and head instructor, has held an expert racing license for over 15 years and has a WERA National Vintage Superbike Championship under his belt. His instructor roster also lists several fellow champs within its ranks. The school takes its name from the statement made in its marketing literature: "Anyone can go fast in a straight line, it's corner speed that determines who wins the race."

While there have been far fewer combat-related deaths than in previous eras, unwelcome statistics from motorcycle accidents have been spiking.

In fiscal 2008 (Oct. 1, 2007 - Sept. 30, 2008), the Department of Defense (DoD) reported 124 motorcycle riders killed. The Army lost 51, the Navy lost 33, the Marine Corps lost 25, and the Air Force - the only branch reporting an improving record - had 15 motorcyclist fatalities, its fewest since 2001.

A public affairs officer for the Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, was unable to supply hard data. It is said, however, that Coast Guard officials share motorcycle safety concerns with the four larger military branches.

While there have been far fewer combat-related deaths than in previous eras, unwelcome statistics from motorcycle accidents have been spiking.

In fiscal 2008 (Oct. 1, 2007 - Sept. 30, 2008), the Department of Defense (DoD) reported 124 motorcycle riders killed. The Army lost 51, the Navy lost 33, the Marine Corps lost 25, and the Air Force - the only branch reporting an improving record - had 15 motorcyclist fatalities, its fewest since 2001.

A public affairs officer for the Coast Guard, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, was unable to supply hard data. It is said, however, that Coast Guard officials share motorcycle safety concerns with the four larger military branches.

No matter what type of motorcycle you own, from a 1908 Indian to a Ducati Desmosedici RR, you can probably find a place in the US to race it. The first decisions the budding road racer needs to make are what type of road racing to do and where to do it, as there is a myriad of national and regional race organizations. Find the one that best fits the type of motorcycle you want to race and the type of racing that you want to do.

When Stevenson called me, the Ducati 748 that I would be riding was sitting in pieces in anticipation of its transformation into a race bike. I had expected this to be completed long before I attended a track school.

With its stripped down state giving easy access to the cylinder heads, I gave the Desmoquattro valves a quick check, before reassembling the entire thing, leaving off the pieces I knew I wouldn't need. I then taped over the empty holes in the fairing. My Pilot Powers were almost new and track worthy, chain and sprockets were nearly new, engine oil was changed, coolant drained and replaced, safety wire added in the appropriate locations - I was ready to go.

No matter what type of motorcycle you own, from a 1908 Indian to a Ducati Desmosedici RR, you can probably find a place in the US to race it. The first decisions the budding road racer needs to make are what type of road racing to do and where to do it, as there is a myriad of national and regional race organizations. Find the one that best fits the type of motorcycle you want to race and the type of racing that you want to do.

When Stevenson called me, the Ducati 748 that I would be riding was sitting in pieces in anticipation of its transformation into a race bike. I had expected this to be completed long before I attended a track school.

With its stripped down state giving easy access to the cylinder heads, I gave the Desmoquattro valves a quick check, before reassembling the entire thing, leaving off the pieces I knew I wouldn't need. I then taped over the empty holes in the fairing. My Pilot Powers were almost new and track worthy, chain and sprockets were nearly new, engine oil was changed, coolant drained and replaced, safety wire added in the appropriate locations - I was ready to go.

If you discuss American motorcycle road racing in the last decade and the topic of privateers (racers without factory support) comes up, then invariably the conversation will turn to a racer named Geoff May. Now an AMA pro, May is a self-made legend in road racing circles for his often one-man assaults on the podium. He fought his way up from an under-financed amateur to earn a ride on the Jordan Suzuki support squad. If anyone could pass on a few pointers on how to start road racing from scratch, May I reasoned, would be it.

Sitting under the awning of the trailer emblazoned with the famous dunking silhouette logo, the soft-spoken Georgian kicked back after a long day of practicing and qualifying to tell me the story of his racing career. It all started, he explained, when he got his first motorcycle in 1998, a Honda Hawk GT. He quickly found that the mountain roads of North Western Georgia were the best places to ride it. In a progression that comes naturally to every sport bike rider, he started attending road races.

If you discuss American motorcycle road racing in the last decade and the topic of privateers (racers without factory support) comes up, then invariably the conversation will turn to a racer named Geoff May. Now an AMA pro, May is a self-made legend in road racing circles for his often one-man assaults on the podium. He fought his way up from an under-financed amateur to earn a ride on the Jordan Suzuki support squad. If anyone could pass on a few pointers on how to start road racing from scratch, May I reasoned, would be it.

Sitting under the awning of the trailer emblazoned with the famous dunking silhouette logo, the soft-spoken Georgian kicked back after a long day of practicing and qualifying to tell me the story of his racing career. It all started, he explained, when he got his first motorcycle in 1998, a Honda Hawk GT. He quickly found that the mountain roads of North Western Georgia were the best places to ride it. In a progression that comes naturally to every sport bike rider, he started attending road races.

But for those race fans who have always aspired to do more than just watch, why not make this winter the one in which you move from spectator to participant, using the down time to prepare instead of daydream. Come spring, you could find yourself on the other side of the chain-links with your hands wrapped around the grips instead of clutching a program and a beer.

This past spring, covering AMA racing at Daytona for Motorcycle.com, I found myself intoxicated by the combination of race gas fumes and the shock wave that you feel in your chest when you're passed yards away by a motorcycle going 180 miles-per-hour. It was then that the question entered my mind, what does it take to make the leap from bench racer to track competitor? So I passed the idea by MO editor-in-chief Kevin Duke. Why not write a series taking readers step-by-step through the process of becoming an amateur road racer? Duke got upper management to agree and is the person to thank (or blame) for what follows.

But for those race fans who have always aspired to do more than just watch, why not make this winter the one in which you move from spectator to participant, using the down time to prepare instead of daydream. Come spring, you could find yourself on the other side of the chain-links with your hands wrapped around the grips instead of clutching a program and a beer.

This past spring, covering AMA racing at Daytona for Motorcycle.com, I found myself intoxicated by the combination of race gas fumes and the shock wave that you feel in your chest when you're passed yards away by a motorcycle going 180 miles-per-hour. It was then that the question entered my mind, what does it take to make the leap from bench racer to track competitor? So I passed the idea by MO editor-in-chief Kevin Duke. Why not write a series taking readers step-by-step through the process of becoming an amateur road racer? Duke got upper management to agree and is the person to thank (or blame) for what follows.

Personally, I never quite understood their passionate pursuit of what seemed to me a rather odd pastime, but then suddenly, just the other day, I realized that I was engaging in an activity almost identical to theirs. And no, I am not a bird watcher, but I am a "biker watcher." And so are many of you - I'd bet money on it.

For example, when I attend Americade every year, I see literally hundreds of people, every day of the week-long affair, sitting in their lawn chairs alongside Canada Street, just watching the bikes go by. And haven't we all done that, to one extent or another? How many thousands of us line the sidewalks of Main Street in Daytona every year, just to watch the constant parade of bikes go by? We may not use binoculars, because our quarry is much more approachable, but I'll bet we take just as many pictures, and are just as excited as any avid birdwatcher when we spot a particularly rare species, like, say, a Vincent Black Shadow, or the ultra-rare AJS Porcupine.

So, carrying this analogy to its extreme-which is a favorite hobby of mine-if we are so much like birdwatchers, doesn't it follow that our quarry are much like birds? I think just maybe I can make that argument. The closer I look at this, the more similarities I begin to see between birds and bikers. Don't we both come in all shapes and sizes, and yet tend to flock together with our own kind? And do we not, within our own flocks, share similar nesting and feeding habits? Aren't there some of us who follow migratory routes with the changes of season? And others who virtually hibernate in the winter? And aren't most of us easily recognizable and categorized by our plumage?

Personally, I never quite understood their passionate pursuit of what seemed to me a rather odd pastime, but then suddenly, just the other day, I realized that I was engaging in an activity almost identical to theirs. And no, I am not a bird watcher, but I am a "biker watcher." And so are many of you - I'd bet money on it.

For example, when I attend Americade every year, I see literally hundreds of people, every day of the week-long affair, sitting in their lawn chairs alongside Canada Street, just watching the bikes go by. And haven't we all done that, to one extent or another? How many thousands of us line the sidewalks of Main Street in Daytona every year, just to watch the constant parade of bikes go by? We may not use binoculars, because our quarry is much more approachable, but I'll bet we take just as many pictures, and are just as excited as any avid birdwatcher when we spot a particularly rare species, like, say, a Vincent Black Shadow, or the ultra-rare AJS Porcupine.

So, carrying this analogy to its extreme-which is a favorite hobby of mine-if we are so much like birdwatchers, doesn't it follow that our quarry are much like birds? I think just maybe I can make that argument. The closer I look at this, the more similarities I begin to see between birds and bikers. Don't we both come in all shapes and sizes, and yet tend to flock together with our own kind? And do we not, within our own flocks, share similar nesting and feeding habits? Aren't there some of us who follow migratory routes with the changes of season? And others who virtually hibernate in the winter? And aren't most of us easily recognizable and categorized by our plumage?

Jean-Pierre Goy, in case you didn't know, is often considered to be the greatest motorcycle stunt rider in the world. Probably his most famous stunt was in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies" where he doubled for Pierce Brosnan, jumping a BMW R1200C over the whirling blades of a hovering helicopter... two-up. A lot of people think that was a computer-faked stunt, but it wasn't. Goy actually jumped the Beemer from one rooftop to another, over a helicopter hovering between the two buildings, with a passenger on the back of the bike.

As amazing as the stunt was, it was pretty tame stuff for Jean-Pierre, who has spent his entire adult life astounding people. I've seen him do wheelies so extreme that he went past vertical, even to the point of breaking the bike's tail light against the pavement, and I've seen him ride a bike through a carefully-controlled figure-eight on one wheel, but it was the front wheel. Both of those stunts should, by all reason, be physically impossible. But he does them anyway, and usually with a big, silly grin on his face, all the while waving to the crowd. Okay, so you've seen guys who could stand on the seat of a moving motorcycle. But have you ever seen one jump from the back seat to the tank, landing on one foot, facing backward? And then reverse the process? Jean-Pierre makes it look easy.

I first met up with Christoph del Bondio when he came to Death Valley in search of a new place to start up another of his world-famous motorcycle adventure tours. Like Jean-Pierre, Christoph is much better known in Europe than here in the U.S., but that only shows how myopic we Americans can be sometimes. Though best-known for his multiple wins in virtually all of the toughest motorcycle off-road endurance races in the world, Christoph has also set records in bungee jumping and was once an Olympic-ranked downhill ski racer. As if that weren't enough, he's climbed most of the major mountains in the world. When he got bored with "regular" mountain climbing, he took up free rock climbing (I think that's what they call it when they climb with no equipment but their own hands and feet), and when even that got "too dull" for him, he invented his own new sport: Free glacier climbing. That's right, climbing vertical ice walls, with his bare hands.

Jean-Pierre Goy, in case you didn't know, is often considered to be the greatest motorcycle stunt rider in the world. Probably his most famous stunt was in the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies" where he doubled for Pierce Brosnan, jumping a BMW R1200C over the whirling blades of a hovering helicopter... two-up. A lot of people think that was a computer-faked stunt, but it wasn't. Goy actually jumped the Beemer from one rooftop to another, over a helicopter hovering between the two buildings, with a passenger on the back of the bike.

As amazing as the stunt was, it was pretty tame stuff for Jean-Pierre, who has spent his entire adult life astounding people. I've seen him do wheelies so extreme that he went past vertical, even to the point of breaking the bike's tail light against the pavement, and I've seen him ride a bike through a carefully-controlled figure-eight on one wheel, but it was the front wheel. Both of those stunts should, by all reason, be physically impossible. But he does them anyway, and usually with a big, silly grin on his face, all the while waving to the crowd. Okay, so you've seen guys who could stand on the seat of a moving motorcycle. But have you ever seen one jump from the back seat to the tank, landing on one foot, facing backward? And then reverse the process? Jean-Pierre makes it look easy.

I first met up with Christoph del Bondio when he came to Death Valley in search of a new place to start up another of his world-famous motorcycle adventure tours. Like Jean-Pierre, Christoph is much better known in Europe than here in the U.S., but that only shows how myopic we Americans can be sometimes. Though best-known for his multiple wins in virtually all of the toughest motorcycle off-road endurance races in the world, Christoph has also set records in bungee jumping and was once an Olympic-ranked downhill ski racer. As if that weren't enough, he's climbed most of the major mountains in the world. When he got bored with "regular" mountain climbing, he took up free rock climbing (I think that's what they call it when they climb with no equipment but their own hands and feet), and when even that got "too dull" for him, he invented his own new sport: Free glacier climbing. That's right, climbing vertical ice walls, with his bare hands.

But this family business does exist, and it goes by the name Area P: No Limits. Both the 'No Limits" sub-label and the name's intentional resemblance to that of the shadowy government compound Area 51 hint at the difficult-to-define boundaries of Area P's existence. Still, I'll make an attempt at putting to paper the tale of this David and its surprising success in a world of Goliaths.

A Life-Long Commitment

Area P's point man is Kerry Bryant. Husband to sales and marketing expert Jenny, and father of master fabricator/designer/engineer Kenny and production technician Kelly, Kerry is the driving force behind Area P's success.

For Kerry, owning his own performance parts business is the culmination of a lifetime of work in the motorcycle industry. He hesitantly admits getting his start as a street racer in the early '70s in Northern California, and although he talks about those days with obvious regret, he must have been pretty fast - his entry into the legitimate side of motorcycle racing came when he was noticed by Santa Maria Harley-Davidson owner Vance Breeze, who Kerry says "slapped some sense into me, and got me on the track at Sears Point (now called Infineon Raceway)."

But this family business does exist, and it goes by the name Area P: No Limits. Both the 'No Limits" sub-label and the name's intentional resemblance to that of the shadowy government compound Area 51 hint at the difficult-to-define boundaries of Area P's existence. Still, I'll make an attempt at putting to paper the tale of this David and its surprising success in a world of Goliaths.

A Life-Long Commitment

Area P's point man is Kerry Bryant. Husband to sales and marketing expert Jenny, and father of master fabricator/designer/engineer Kenny and production technician Kelly, Kerry is the driving force behind Area P's success.

For Kerry, owning his own performance parts business is the culmination of a lifetime of work in the motorcycle industry. He hesitantly admits getting his start as a street racer in the early '70s in Northern California, and although he talks about those days with obvious regret, he must have been pretty fast - his entry into the legitimate side of motorcycle racing came when he was noticed by Santa Maria Harley-Davidson owner Vance Breeze, who Kerry says "slapped some sense into me, and got me on the track at Sears Point (now called Infineon Raceway)."

I pulled out the nail, got out my patch kit (bought a few days earlier at a bicycle shop), found the hole in the tube, patched it and was on my way. A few hours later, just out of Coco's corner, that squishy sensation came back. This time I didn't need the lady to tell me I was suffering from pneumatic dysfunction. I pulled out the tube and saw the now shriveled-up patch I had put on earlier in San Felipe.

She looked my way, smiled and said, "I think you're going soft."

Out of sixteen riders who made it to Mulege and back that year, only four were flat-free, seven had one flat, the remaining five averaged three flats each, and the record was four. Let's take the record holder - me. How did I get four flats? Cactus needles? Hitting rocks at sixty? Nails? A cheap tube? Actually, I picked up one nail and then spent the rest of the ride fixing the same puncture over and over again. Other riders with more than one flat also had the same problem - the patch failed. Those who took their tubes to a Llantera (a Mexican tire-repair establishment identified by half-buried old tire out front), however, had better luck. What do these statistics tell? They say that patching a tube may be trickier than you think, and learning how to do it right could save you a lot of time and trouble. To discover the secret, I watched what they did in the Llanteras, visited a couple of truck tire repair shops in Berkeley afterward, and talked with a salesman for tire repair equipment. I got pretty much the same story everywhere. First, you gotta have...

The Right Stuff

The thin patches used for bicycle tubes will disintegrate under the flexing and heat generated in a rear tire, as I discovered that morning in Baja. A knife, a rasp, and a piece of sharp, medium-to-coarse grit sandpaper will rough up the surface of the rubber and clean it. You'll need a stitcher - a little roller-wheel with a serrated edge and a disposable acid brush - to spread the glue. Finally, you need good glue and good patches. Most of the time, any tire-repair glue (cold vulcanizing fluid, or self-vulcanizing cement are the technical names) will work with any patch, but the technical people say there are some minor differences to be aware of. To avoid potential mismatches, get the glue and the patches from the same manufacturer, or use a combination that a tire repair shop will vouch for. The glue must be in a metal tube or container. Once a tube has been opened the glue will, over time, magically disappear. So have at least one unopened tube of glue with you, wrapped in duct tape to prevent it from flexing or cracking.

For a simple puncture, the patch should be about an inch and a half to two inches in diameter and about as thick as the tube. It will have a protective transparent plastic film on the front side and a feathered or tapered edge at the circumference. The patch should be intended for a truck-tire inner tube, not for a bicycle tube. The thin patches used for bicycle tubes will disintegrate under the flexing and heat generated in a rear tire, as I discovered that morning in Baja.

I pulled out the nail, got out my patch kit (bought a few days earlier at a bicycle shop), found the hole in the tube, patched it and was on my way. A few hours later, just out of Coco's corner, that squishy sensation came back. This time I didn't need the lady to tell me I was suffering from pneumatic dysfunction. I pulled out the tube and saw the now shriveled-up patch I had put on earlier in San Felipe.

She looked my way, smiled and said, "I think you're going soft."

Out of sixteen riders who made it to Mulege and back that year, only four were flat-free, seven had one flat, the remaining five averaged three flats each, and the record was four. Let's take the record holder - me. How did I get four flats? Cactus needles? Hitting rocks at sixty? Nails? A cheap tube? Actually, I picked up one nail and then spent the rest of the ride fixing the same puncture over and over again. Other riders with more than one flat also had the same problem - the patch failed. Those who took their tubes to a Llantera (a Mexican tire-repair establishment identified by half-buried old tire out front), however, had better luck. What do these statistics tell? They say that patching a tube may be trickier than you think, and learning how to do it right could save you a lot of time and trouble. To discover the secret, I watched what they did in the Llanteras, visited a couple of truck tire repair shops in Berkeley afterward, and talked with a salesman for tire repair equipment. I got pretty much the same story everywhere. First, you gotta have...

The Right Stuff

The thin patches used for bicycle tubes will disintegrate under the flexing and heat generated in a rear tire, as I discovered that morning in Baja. A knife, a rasp, and a piece of sharp, medium-to-coarse grit sandpaper will rough up the surface of the rubber and clean it. You'll need a stitcher - a little roller-wheel with a serrated edge and a disposable acid brush - to spread the glue. Finally, you need good glue and good patches. Most of the time, any tire-repair glue (cold vulcanizing fluid, or self-vulcanizing cement are the technical names) will work with any patch, but the technical people say there are some minor differences to be aware of. To avoid potential mismatches, get the glue and the patches from the same manufacturer, or use a combination that a tire repair shop will vouch for. The glue must be in a metal tube or container. Once a tube has been opened the glue will, over time, magically disappear. So have at least one unopened tube of glue with you, wrapped in duct tape to prevent it from flexing or cracking.

For a simple puncture, the patch should be about an inch and a half to two inches in diameter and about as thick as the tube. It will have a protective transparent plastic film on the front side and a feathered or tapered edge at the circumference. The patch should be intended for a truck-tire inner tube, not for a bicycle tube. The thin patches used for bicycle tubes will disintegrate under the flexing and heat generated in a rear tire, as I discovered that morning in Baja.

]]>Article Types:How-To,Feature:Yes,How-To Types:Other Type,Year:2007http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/power-to-wait-30005.html
http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/power-to-wait-30005.htmlSun, 07 Jan 2007 06:50:00 -0500Gabe Ets-Hokinhttp://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/power-to-wait-30005.htmlPower to WaitRemember Steve Forbes' bids for the presidency in 1996 and 2000? Remember how he would bleat out "flat tax" as the solution for all our economic woes?

There's a motorcycle equivalent to Forbes' unblinking lunacy; guys who insist having tiered licensing for motorcyclists - a system that would restrict new riders to smaller-displacement machines until they develop their skills - would somehow reduce the number of crashes.

Recently, the State of Washington investigated the increase in motorcycle crashes and fatalities over the last ten years. Their report is an interesting and quick read [pdf], but despite any mention in the report of displacement, one of our Motorcycle.com readers glanced over it and wrote that it "reads like a good argument for tiered licensing." Did I miss something? The report cited "lane errors" (meaning the rider blew a corner), speeding and drinking as the vast majority of accident causes. Why do experienced motorcyclists that eschew helmet laws and other forms of government interference get all lovey-dovey over the idea of a tiered licensing structure that would similarly restrict rider choice?

Why are we so certain having a faster machine makes you more likely to crash? The new report's findings are substantially similar to those of the 25-year-old Hurt Report's. Alcohol and rider error were cited as main causes by both reports. What that really means is lack of rider training and common sense. In the Washington state report, 86 percent of the victims lacked formal training, where in the Hurt study it was 91 percent. Not much has changed since the Carter administration; helmets don't even provide that much more protection then they did 25 years ago, and people still insist on wearing bell bottoms.

The main thing that has changed is the attitude of consumers. Today the lowly SV650, with 70hp and about 410 pounds of wet weight is now considered a chick bike, even though each pony only has to push 5.8 pounds. Compare that to the 7:1 ratio of your typical early-`80s big-bore streetbike like a CB900F. Mr. First Time Buyer can finance a GSXR-1000 and be in charge of a cruise missile-like 2.7 pounds per horsepower. It sounds like that's the cause of rising fatality rates right there, but we still have to average in cruisers, the most-popular streetbike category. Even though power and displacement are up immensely, mellow tuning and plenty of lard means they don't accelerate that quickly, even if a middle-aged drunkard riding one has shaky command over 100-plus pound-feet of torque.

Despite the fact that nobody cites any evidence to prove that there are more crashes because of the extra power, that's still the assumption. If we were all forced to ride Yamaha Jogs and Rebel 250s, we would probably still see similar crash rates, although there would admittedly be fewer fatalities and less-interesting crash stories. We all want to reduce fatalities, but the best protection for a motorcyclist is to avoid crashing in the first place. If a rider is untrained, will putting her on a smaller bike really make her less likely to crash? Since I have no idea how to fly an airplane, I'll crash an ultralight just as fast as I'll crash an F-117, although the F-117 crash would probably create a more dramatic explosion.

A Neanderthal could look at the evidence and see the majority of fatalities are self-styled action heroes who buy motorcycles without getting proper training, or jackasses who think they can handle drinking and riding. That's regardless of displacement, brand, weather, time of day or any other factor. Tiered licensing merely moves the onus of safety from the riders to manufacturers and dealers. But how does tiered licensing make new riders get proper training? How does it make sure Bob doesn't stop for happy hour before he rides back home?

How does it ensure he will leave the house wearing something more protective than a plastic yarmulke and scrotum-exposing Bermuda shorts?

Like helmets, tiered licensing wouldn't lessen the number of crashes. Instead, it would merely mitigate the effects. If motorcyclists could somehow muster the discipline to not drink and ride as well as attend the MSF course before they purchase their dream machines, the crash rate - as well as the numbers of fatalities - would be so much lower that helmet laws wouldn't even be an issue. The number of lives saved by helmets in a state like Washington would be measured in dozens rather than hundreds. More people than that are killed hitting their heads after slipping in the shower.

Rather than talking about the dangers of power-to-weight, we should be encouraging the power to wait. Wait until you've been trained to ride your motorcycle. Wait until you get home to have a beer. Wait until you've racked up some experience before you speed on a twisty road. Accepting tiered licensing would work to limit our choices as consumers and perpetuate myths and stereotypes about motorcycles being dangerous, uncontrollable machines. Training and promoting motorcycle awareness are the keys to keeping us and our sport alive.

]]>Remember Steve Forbes' bids for the presidency in 1996 and 2000? Remember how he would bleat out "flat tax" as the solution for all our economic woes?

There's a motorcycle equivalent to Forbes' unblinking lunacy; guys who insist having tiered licensing for motorcyclists - a system that would restrict new riders to smaller-displacement machines until they develop their skills - would somehow reduce the number of crashes.

Recently, the State of Washington investigated the increase in motorcycle crashes and fatalities over the last ten years. Their report is an interesting and quick read [pdf], but despite any mention in the report of displacement, one of our Motorcycle.com readers glanced over it and wrote that it "reads like a good argument for tiered licensing." Did I miss something? The report cited "lane errors" (meaning the rider blew a corner), speeding and drinking as the vast majority of accident causes. Why do experienced motorcyclists that eschew helmet laws and other forms of government interference get all lovey-dovey over the idea of a tiered licensing structure that would similarly restrict rider choice?

Why are we so certain having a faster machine makes you more likely to crash? The new report's findings are substantially similar to those of the 25-year-old Hurt Report's. Alcohol and rider error were cited as main causes by both reports. What that really means is lack of rider training and common sense. In the Washington state report, 86 percent of the victims lacked formal training, where in the Hurt study it was 91 percent. Not much has changed since the Carter administration; helmets don't even provide that much more protection then they did 25 years ago, and people still insist on wearing bell bottoms.

The main thing that has changed is the attitude of consumers. Today the lowly SV650, with 70hp and about 410 pounds of wet weight is now considered a chick bike, even though each pony only has to push 5.8 pounds. Compare that to the 7:1 ratio of your typical early-`80s big-bore streetbike like a CB900F. Mr. First Time Buyer can finance a GSXR-1000 and be in charge of a cruise missile-like 2.7 pounds per horsepower. It sounds like that's the cause of rising fatality rates right there, but we still have to average in cruisers, the most-popular streetbike category. Even though power and displacement are up immensely, mellow tuning and plenty of lard means they don't accelerate that quickly, even if a middle-aged drunkard riding one has shaky command over 100-plus pound-feet of torque.

Despite the fact that nobody cites any evidence to prove that there are more crashes because of the extra power, that's still the assumption. If we were all forced to ride Yamaha Jogs and Rebel 250s, we would probably still see similar crash rates, although there would admittedly be fewer fatalities and less-interesting crash stories. We all want to reduce fatalities, but the best protection for a motorcyclist is to avoid crashing in the first place. If a rider is untrained, will putting her on a smaller bike really make her less likely to crash? Since I have no idea how to fly an airplane, I'll crash an ultralight just as fast as I'll crash an F-117, although the F-117 crash would probably create a more dramatic explosion.

A Neanderthal could look at the evidence and see the majority of fatalities are self-styled action heroes who buy motorcycles without getting proper training, or jackasses who think they can handle drinking and riding. That's regardless of displacement, brand, weather, time of day or any other factor. Tiered licensing merely moves the onus of safety from the riders to manufacturers and dealers. But how does tiered licensing make new riders get proper training? How does it make sure Bob doesn't stop for happy hour before he rides back home?

How does it ensure he will leave the house wearing something more protective than a plastic yarmulke and scrotum-exposing Bermuda shorts?

Like helmets, tiered licensing wouldn't lessen the number of crashes. Instead, it would merely mitigate the effects. If motorcyclists could somehow muster the discipline to not drink and ride as well as attend the MSF course before they purchase their dream machines, the crash rate - as well as the numbers of fatalities - would be so much lower that helmet laws wouldn't even be an issue. The number of lives saved by helmets in a state like Washington would be measured in dozens rather than hundreds. More people than that are killed hitting their heads after slipping in the shower.

Rather than talking about the dangers of power-to-weight, we should be encouraging the power to wait. Wait until you've been trained to ride your motorcycle. Wait until you get home to have a beer. Wait until you've racked up some experience before you speed on a twisty road. Accepting tiered licensing would work to limit our choices as consumers and perpetuate myths and stereotypes about motorcycles being dangerous, uncontrollable machines. Training and promoting motorcycle awareness are the keys to keeping us and our sport alive.

By 1915, it would be advertised as "The Fastest Motorcycle Ever Built"

A winter of working in the unheated barn on the family farm had put the engine back into running condition, and a year of working every available hour when out of school had helped him build a nest egg of almost $50 with which to finance his journey. In June of 1917 he packed his duffel on the rear luggage rack, strapped a shotgun and a fishing pole to the handlebars with leather belts, filled his pockets with tools and hit the road.

Along the way he camped out under the stars, and fished and hunted for his meals. Sometimes he would barter a bag full of quail or fresh-caught bass at a farmhouse, for a dinner at the farmer's table and warm place to spend the night. Some nights he just sat under his poncho in the cold rain, chewing on beef jerky. [Ohmagawd! That's our Fonzie, to a T.-Ed.]

By 1915, it would be advertised as "The Fastest Motorcycle Ever Built"

A winter of working in the unheated barn on the family farm had put the engine back into running condition, and a year of working every available hour when out of school had helped him build a nest egg of almost $50 with which to finance his journey. In June of 1917 he packed his duffel on the rear luggage rack, strapped a shotgun and a fishing pole to the handlebars with leather belts, filled his pockets with tools and hit the road.

Along the way he camped out under the stars, and fished and hunted for his meals. Sometimes he would barter a bag full of quail or fresh-caught bass at a farmhouse, for a dinner at the farmer's table and warm place to spend the night. Some nights he just sat under his poncho in the cold rain, chewing on beef jerky. [Ohmagawd! That's our Fonzie, to a T.-Ed.]

Those are quotes from Dr. Jeffery W. Runge, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), while speaking at the Lifesavers Convention, Charlotte, NC, on March 14, 2005. And just in case you hadn't figured it out yet, the "they" being referred to is you and me - motorcyclists.

Those are quotes from Dr. Jeffery W. Runge, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), while speaking at the Lifesavers Convention, Charlotte, NC, on March 14, 2005. And just in case you hadn't figured it out yet, the "they" being referred to is you and me - motorcyclists.

He is considered by many, to this day, to have been the greatest jinx that ever lived.

And though I don't believe we share any physical characteristics that might mark us as relatives, more than a few people have remarked that he and I must have sprung from the same gene pool.

One of the most amazing things about Joe Btfsplk, and me, is that though we seem to be carriers of the bad luck virus, the consequences of the disease rarely, if ever, afflict us personally. Instead, they land squarely on anyone within close proximity of us. In my own case, I offer the following, mostly-true scenarios.

I was riding up the Northern California coast with my friend Hank just in front of me on his GL1100 Gold Wing. The road was heavily-wooded on both sides, with a steep uphill on our right. In a flash, I noticed a rapid movement down the hill, which almost immediately transformed itself into a large, brown bear that came barreling out of the woods and onto the highway at just the right speed and angle of attack to coincide perfectly with Hank's right leg and the right front fairing of his bike. Naturally, bike and Hank went down hard to the left, and the bear performed a beautiful somersault, landing on all fours, still hell-bent-for-leather for the opposite side of the road, where he disappeared almost immediately into the underbrush before Hank even stopped tumbling. What was really odd, though, was that while Hank was still abrading himself against the road surface, his bike actually stood back up on its own and continued down the road. In fact, it even stayed right in the center of the lane, as if it had decided to complete the trip to Oregon without its pilot. I've since been told that the phenomenon is caused by something called "gyroscopic precession."

For a brief moment, I considered whether I should chase the bike or see to Hank's welfare. I guess I made the wrong decision at first, but my wife's good sense prevailed in the form of furious pummeling on my helmet and screaming. Hank was okay except for some minor cuts and bruises, and the bike eventually ran off the shoulder and landed in some brush about a hundred yards down the road, with only a crack in the fairing, stuffed with bristly brown hairs, to show for the mishap.

He is considered by many, to this day, to have been the greatest jinx that ever lived.

And though I don't believe we share any physical characteristics that might mark us as relatives, more than a few people have remarked that he and I must have sprung from the same gene pool.

One of the most amazing things about Joe Btfsplk, and me, is that though we seem to be carriers of the bad luck virus, the consequences of the disease rarely, if ever, afflict us personally. Instead, they land squarely on anyone within close proximity of us. In my own case, I offer the following, mostly-true scenarios.

I was riding up the Northern California coast with my friend Hank just in front of me on his GL1100 Gold Wing. The road was heavily-wooded on both sides, with a steep uphill on our right. In a flash, I noticed a rapid movement down the hill, which almost immediately transformed itself into a large, brown bear that came barreling out of the woods and onto the highway at just the right speed and angle of attack to coincide perfectly with Hank's right leg and the right front fairing of his bike. Naturally, bike and Hank went down hard to the left, and the bear performed a beautiful somersault, landing on all fours, still hell-bent-for-leather for the opposite side of the road, where he disappeared almost immediately into the underbrush before Hank even stopped tumbling. What was really odd, though, was that while Hank was still abrading himself against the road surface, his bike actually stood back up on its own and continued down the road. In fact, it even stayed right in the center of the lane, as if it had decided to complete the trip to Oregon without its pilot. I've since been told that the phenomenon is caused by something called "gyroscopic precession."

For a brief moment, I considered whether I should chase the bike or see to Hank's welfare. I guess I made the wrong decision at first, but my wife's good sense prevailed in the form of furious pummeling on my helmet and screaming. Hank was okay except for some minor cuts and bruises, and the bike eventually ran off the shoulder and landed in some brush about a hundred yards down the road, with only a crack in the fairing, stuffed with bristly brown hairs, to show for the mishap.

To aid traffic pulling in and out of the beach access road and the game preserve, the highway department had placed a stoplight right in front of the restaurant, about 50 feet from where we were dining. About halfway through our lunch, five motorcycles pulled up to this light. Like most motorcyclists, I immediately identified the machines in my mind: One Harley Fat Boy, one Harley Softail, two Kawasaki Vulcans, a Yamaha Road Star and a Honda VTX. Each and every one of them with aftermarket pipes-though the ones on the Softail looked almost homemade.

As they sat at the light, for an almost interminable 30 or 40 seconds, they took turns blipping their throttles. The noise was so bad that all conversation in the restaurant ceased, because no one could be heard above the racket. A waitress impatiently tapped her pencil on her order pad and shrugged apologetically to the family whose order she was trying to take.

To aid traffic pulling in and out of the beach access road and the game preserve, the highway department had placed a stoplight right in front of the restaurant, about 50 feet from where we were dining. About halfway through our lunch, five motorcycles pulled up to this light. Like most motorcyclists, I immediately identified the machines in my mind: One Harley Fat Boy, one Harley Softail, two Kawasaki Vulcans, a Yamaha Road Star and a Honda VTX. Each and every one of them with aftermarket pipes-though the ones on the Softail looked almost homemade.

As they sat at the light, for an almost interminable 30 or 40 seconds, they took turns blipping their throttles. The noise was so bad that all conversation in the restaurant ceased, because no one could be heard above the racket. A waitress impatiently tapped her pencil on her order pad and shrugged apologetically to the family whose order she was trying to take.

Who owns that information? And what about our constitutional protection against self-incrimination? Does the state, or perhaps your insurance company, have the right to use that information against you to raise your insurance rates, or to prosecute you and perhaps even send you to jail? The consensus among the panel was that, legally, the information belongs to the owner of the vehicle and can't be used without his permission, but... read on.

So, what about your right to privacy or freedom from self-incrimination?

First of all, if you're wondering what this has to do with motorcycling, I couldn't find a single expert in the industry who doesn't believe that VDRs will soon be mandatory on every motor vehicle sold in the US, which, of course, will include our motorcycles. Secondly, it is also worth noting that these devices are capable of recording tons more information than what they currently capture. And, I am told that it would be a simple matter for the NHTSA to require the collection of any data from these devices that they might deem useful to them. The Michigan panel also noted that under some new laws passed recently, the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General's office can also access that data. So, what about your right to privacy or freedom from self-incrimination? According to the National Motorists Association (NMA), even if Homeland Security or the AG isn't interested in your "private" information, you have probably already waived your right to privacy by way of a clause in your insurance policy, promising that you will "cooperate" with your insurance company by granting access to any information that could conceivably help settle a claim....you have probably already waived your right to privacy by way of a clause in your insurance policy, promising that you will "cooperate" with your insurance company by granting access to any information that could conceivably help settle a claim. You might be able to secure a court order to stop them, but don't bother, because I'm also told that virtually any state agency could still access your data, under the "implied consent" clause that is standard in most states as part of your being issued a driver's license.

Who owns that information? And what about our constitutional protection against self-incrimination? Does the state, or perhaps your insurance company, have the right to use that information against you to raise your insurance rates, or to prosecute you and perhaps even send you to jail? The consensus among the panel was that, legally, the information belongs to the owner of the vehicle and can't be used without his permission, but... read on.

So, what about your right to privacy or freedom from self-incrimination?

First of all, if you're wondering what this has to do with motorcycling, I couldn't find a single expert in the industry who doesn't believe that VDRs will soon be mandatory on every motor vehicle sold in the US, which, of course, will include our motorcycles. Secondly, it is also worth noting that these devices are capable of recording tons more information than what they currently capture. And, I am told that it would be a simple matter for the NHTSA to require the collection of any data from these devices that they might deem useful to them. The Michigan panel also noted that under some new laws passed recently, the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General's office can also access that data. So, what about your right to privacy or freedom from self-incrimination? According to the National Motorists Association (NMA), even if Homeland Security or the AG isn't interested in your "private" information, you have probably already waived your right to privacy by way of a clause in your insurance policy, promising that you will "cooperate" with your insurance company by granting access to any information that could conceivably help settle a claim....you have probably already waived your right to privacy by way of a clause in your insurance policy, promising that you will "cooperate" with your insurance company by granting access to any information that could conceivably help settle a claim. You might be able to secure a court order to stop them, but don't bother, because I'm also told that virtually any state agency could still access your data, under the "implied consent" clause that is standard in most states as part of your being issued a driver's license.

But as this charioteer lurched over towards meI struck him in my rage...He was paid back, and more!Swinging my club in this right hand I knocked himOut of his car, and he rolled on the ground.I killed him.... I killed them all.- Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, 430 BC

You're on your brand new Super Moto bike and you want to go for a ride. You call up your friend, and you meet for coffee. You talk about your new KTM and how fast and fun it is, how it will give you an edge over the plodding, inattentive masses in their Volvos, rental cars and SUVs.

You roar around the car on the shoulder of the road, scream a few choice obscenities at the girls and do a wheelie around the bend.

You head out to the beach, the thumper's motor roaring in your ears and the cool salty air filling your lungs. As you come up to a stop sign, two young women in a sedan hesitate in front of you, looking at the water. You honk at them, and one of them waves a saucy middle finger at you.

But as this charioteer lurched over towards meI struck him in my rage...He was paid back, and more!Swinging my club in this right hand I knocked himOut of his car, and he rolled on the ground.I killed him.... I killed them all.- Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, 430 BC

You're on your brand new Super Moto bike and you want to go for a ride. You call up your friend, and you meet for coffee. You talk about your new KTM and how fast and fun it is, how it will give you an edge over the plodding, inattentive masses in their Volvos, rental cars and SUVs.

You roar around the car on the shoulder of the road, scream a few choice obscenities at the girls and do a wheelie around the bend.

You head out to the beach, the thumper's motor roaring in your ears and the cool salty air filling your lungs. As you come up to a stop sign, two young women in a sedan hesitate in front of you, looking at the water. You honk at them, and one of them waves a saucy middle finger at you.

For me, the 1980's were a time of pegged, fashionably ripped jeans, re-runs of 'Three's Company' and voluminous hair. For many of you, however, the 1980's were a golden era of motorcycle roadracing, with the Grand Prix being held in California, packed with a grid of American racers, racers as fast and victorious as the most famous of the Europeans.

Eddie Lawson was born into a family of motorcycle racers in 1958, and started racing flat track on a 90cc bike at 12 years old. By the time he was 15, he was known as a fast amateur in both flat track and road-racing.

In 1980 Lawson was invited to try the new AMA Superbike class, where 130 hp monsters with tube-steel frames and skinny tires were wrestled around road courses flat track-style by the likes of Wes Cooley and Lawson's 250GP rival Freddie Spencer. "It was really pretty fun to ride those old 1000cc Superbikes" said Lawson in an article from the AMA website. That 'fun' resulted in him taking the 1981 and 1982 Superbike championships, despite epic, memorable battles with Freddie Spencer. His signature green-and-white KZ1000 superbike has been immortalized by the 1982-83 Eddie Lawson Replica KZ1000, and the 1999-2004 Kawasaki ZRX1100 and ZRX1200.

For me, the 1980's were a time of pegged, fashionably ripped jeans, re-runs of 'Three's Company' and voluminous hair. For many of you, however, the 1980's were a golden era of motorcycle roadracing, with the Grand Prix being held in California, packed with a grid of American racers, racers as fast and victorious as the most famous of the Europeans.

Eddie Lawson was born into a family of motorcycle racers in 1958, and started racing flat track on a 90cc bike at 12 years old. By the time he was 15, he was known as a fast amateur in both flat track and road-racing.

In 1980 Lawson was invited to try the new AMA Superbike class, where 130 hp monsters with tube-steel frames and skinny tires were wrestled around road courses flat track-style by the likes of Wes Cooley and Lawson's 250GP rival Freddie Spencer. "It was really pretty fun to ride those old 1000cc Superbikes" said Lawson in an article from the AMA website. That 'fun' resulted in him taking the 1981 and 1982 Superbike championships, despite epic, memorable battles with Freddie Spencer. His signature green-and-white KZ1000 superbike has been immortalized by the 1982-83 Eddie Lawson Replica KZ1000, and the 1999-2004 Kawasaki ZRX1100 and ZRX1200.

Mentally back to reality and the point at hand: My CRF is box-stock and very quiet, and I like that. Jim loosed one bolt out of the back of my exhaust, popped out the inner core and presto! It's loud: "sounds good, now, huh?" he queries me with that devilish smile of his. 'No,' I think, 'it sounds garishly loud, don't touch my bike!' Count, one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, and...

Ah, the sound of my riding pal Jim Ryan's piped XR650 echoing amongst the canyons is music to his ears - what's with guys and loud pipes, anyway?

"Yes, Jim," I reply, suppressing that rude voice constantly in my head, "it sure does, but I like the way my bike runs and don't want to mess with the power delivery at all, please put it back." There, that part is true, an outright lie avoided, all my karma intact. Which is important to me, as I feel that it's rude to pump noise at others - a sentiment shared by much of the rest of the world. So I put the muffler core back in. The ease with which my exceptionally well-engineered Honda can be "uncorked" stays with me, churning thoughts in the back of my head...

Mentally back to reality and the point at hand: My CRF is box-stock and very quiet, and I like that. Jim loosed one bolt out of the back of my exhaust, popped out the inner core and presto! It's loud: "sounds good, now, huh?" he queries me with that devilish smile of his. 'No,' I think, 'it sounds garishly loud, don't touch my bike!' Count, one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, and...

Ah, the sound of my riding pal Jim Ryan's piped XR650 echoing amongst the canyons is music to his ears - what's with guys and loud pipes, anyway?

"Yes, Jim," I reply, suppressing that rude voice constantly in my head, "it sure does, but I like the way my bike runs and don't want to mess with the power delivery at all, please put it back." There, that part is true, an outright lie avoided, all my karma intact. Which is important to me, as I feel that it's rude to pump noise at others - a sentiment shared by much of the rest of the world. So I put the muffler core back in. The ease with which my exceptionally well-engineered Honda can be "uncorked" stays with me, churning thoughts in the back of my head...

On September 20th, he was sent with California's contingent to Louisiana to assist with disaster relief efforts. Although he is a combat veteran, seeing action as a .50 caliber machine gunner in the first Gulf War, and has seen all kinds of horrible poverty and destruction all over the world, nothing could prepare him for the sight of devastated American homes and communities.

"I never thought I'd see an American city abandoned, with no one in the streets except armed soldiers and stray dogs", said the 36-year-old Army journalist.

Gabe did his part supporting the relief effort by writing press releases for the command group he was stationed with in Slidell, Louisiana, a town about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans that was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

On September 20th, he was sent with California's contingent to Louisiana to assist with disaster relief efforts. Although he is a combat veteran, seeing action as a .50 caliber machine gunner in the first Gulf War, and has seen all kinds of horrible poverty and destruction all over the world, nothing could prepare him for the sight of devastated American homes and communities.

"I never thought I'd see an American city abandoned, with no one in the streets except armed soldiers and stray dogs", said the 36-year-old Army journalist.

Gabe did his part supporting the relief effort by writing press releases for the command group he was stationed with in Slidell, Louisiana, a town about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans that was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Particularly for a large, professional race, where the stakes are high, and the competition fierce. If you have never attempted this sort of thing before, my first piece of advice is to start small, with a couple of local, amateur events, before diving into the maelstrom of big-time, professional competition.

Over the past 30 years, I have ridden escort duty of one kind or another in over a dozen such competitions, and would like to offer the following advice and insights into this unusual motorcycling activity. Keep in mind, though, that conditions and rules vary from event to event, and often are based more on the attitude of the race promoters and organizers than on any set of written guidelines that might be provided to you.

Your Bike & Equipment

Almost any kind of motorcycle can be used for escort duty, but certain types also work better for different assignments. First and foremost, however, note that bikes with loud exhausts need not apply. If the race organizers feel that your aftermarket pipes will startle or annoy the bicyclists you are going to be riding in close proximity to, they will not allow you to participate. Nearly all stock exhausts, even the slightly louder ones found on some cruisers, are usually not a problem.

Particularly for a large, professional race, where the stakes are high, and the competition fierce. If you have never attempted this sort of thing before, my first piece of advice is to start small, with a couple of local, amateur events, before diving into the maelstrom of big-time, professional competition.

Over the past 30 years, I have ridden escort duty of one kind or another in over a dozen such competitions, and would like to offer the following advice and insights into this unusual motorcycling activity. Keep in mind, though, that conditions and rules vary from event to event, and often are based more on the attitude of the race promoters and organizers than on any set of written guidelines that might be provided to you.

Your Bike & Equipment

Almost any kind of motorcycle can be used for escort duty, but certain types also work better for different assignments. First and foremost, however, note that bikes with loud exhausts need not apply. If the race organizers feel that your aftermarket pipes will startle or annoy the bicyclists you are going to be riding in close proximity to, they will not allow you to participate. Nearly all stock exhausts, even the slightly louder ones found on some cruisers, are usually not a problem.

...a clear understanding of these basic terms is essential for an understanding of what's to follow.

As I've set out to cover a large part of motorcycle technology - more or less everything to do with motorcycle chassis technology - and I think it is quite important to clearly define all the terminology and geometry right from the start. As you will see there are not a lot of definitions, but a clear understanding of these basic terms is essential for an understanding of what's to follow.

First there are the geometrical definitions. These dynamical measurements determine how the bike behaves while being ridden. WHEELBASE:
The distance between the centers of rotation for the front and rear wheels - that is, the distance between the front and rear axle. Typical numbers are 55 to 58 inches for mid-size and larger street sporting motorcycles, 52 to 54 inches for 250 or 500cc Gran Prix bikes and just under 50 inches for 125cc GP bikes. Choppers, as well as the infamous Bohemia motorcycle (a Czech-made, 3-seated behemoth) can easily double these numbers!

WHEEL ALIGNMENT: (1): In the most basic form it means that the front and rear wheel are in-line. That is, they point in the same direction and are not offset from each other. (2): A more constraining definition of the term also requires that both wheels are in the same plane. That is, one wheel is not vertically tilted with respect to the other. On a motorcycle that is not properly set up or has a bent frame, forks or swingarm (1) can be true without (2) being the case. This is illustrated in figure 1.

...a clear understanding of these basic terms is essential for an understanding of what's to follow.

As I've set out to cover a large part of motorcycle technology - more or less everything to do with motorcycle chassis technology - and I think it is quite important to clearly define all the terminology and geometry right from the start. As you will see there are not a lot of definitions, but a clear understanding of these basic terms is essential for an understanding of what's to follow.

First there are the geometrical definitions. These dynamical measurements determine how the bike behaves while being ridden. WHEELBASE:
The distance between the centers of rotation for the front and rear wheels - that is, the distance between the front and rear axle. Typical numbers are 55 to 58 inches for mid-size and larger street sporting motorcycles, 52 to 54 inches for 250 or 500cc Gran Prix bikes and just under 50 inches for 125cc GP bikes. Choppers, as well as the infamous Bohemia motorcycle (a Czech-made, 3-seated behemoth) can easily double these numbers!

WHEEL ALIGNMENT: (1): In the most basic form it means that the front and rear wheel are in-line. That is, they point in the same direction and are not offset from each other. (2): A more constraining definition of the term also requires that both wheels are in the same plane. That is, one wheel is not vertically tilted with respect to the other. On a motorcycle that is not properly set up or has a bent frame, forks or swingarm (1) can be true without (2) being the case. This is illustrated in figure 1.

According to the US Federal Highway Administration, in 2000 the 75 largest metropolitan areas "experienced 3.6 billion vehicle-hours of delay, resulting in 21.6 billion liters (5.7 billion gallons) in wasted fuel and $67.5 billion in lost productivity." That probably means that many of you reading this spent longer than necessary getting to work and are looking forward to even longer delays getting home tonight.

Whose fault is it, anyway? When I'm stuck in traffic in a car, I become irrational and blame "the idiots." The Idiots are basically anybody who isn't me, from Soccer Mom in the mammoth SUV to Urban Gangster Guy weaving through traffic in his Five-O with the seat leaned back so far he can't see over the wheel. In my pent-up rodent mind, if only everyone would drive like me, there would be no traffic jams.

In reality, about half of all traffic congestion nationwide is caused by either accidents, disabled vehicles or "incidents": weather, road construction, or even something interesting by the side of the road. The other half (more or less) is caused by what the DOT labels "recurring events": the fact that there are just not enough roads for all the vehicles that want to use them.

According to the US Federal Highway Administration, in 2000 the 75 largest metropolitan areas "experienced 3.6 billion vehicle-hours of delay, resulting in 21.6 billion liters (5.7 billion gallons) in wasted fuel and $67.5 billion in lost productivity." That probably means that many of you reading this spent longer than necessary getting to work and are looking forward to even longer delays getting home tonight.

Whose fault is it, anyway? When I'm stuck in traffic in a car, I become irrational and blame "the idiots." The Idiots are basically anybody who isn't me, from Soccer Mom in the mammoth SUV to Urban Gangster Guy weaving through traffic in his Five-O with the seat leaned back so far he can't see over the wheel. In my pent-up rodent mind, if only everyone would drive like me, there would be no traffic jams.

In reality, about half of all traffic congestion nationwide is caused by either accidents, disabled vehicles or "incidents": weather, road construction, or even something interesting by the side of the road. The other half (more or less) is caused by what the DOT labels "recurring events": the fact that there are just not enough roads for all the vehicles that want to use them.

This thing could make the MOTOGP grid in any race while carrying around some 30 pounds more.

It's quite quick when you consider that there are only two cylinders and about four frame tubes doing the job. This thing could make the MOTOGP grid in any race while carrying around some 30 pounds more. Judging by its 187 mph top speed at Monza's straight there should close to 200 horsies hiding in there. If memory serves me right, swingarm should be as in the homologation model, the 999R, but it doesn't look so. Just don't tell anybody I told you. The extra-deep wet sump is used to prevent the oil pump from sucking air during acceleration and braking. The 999F03 has the strengthened sand-cast cases which where homologated with the 999R.

This thing could make the MOTOGP grid in any race while carrying around some 30 pounds more.

It's quite quick when you consider that there are only two cylinders and about four frame tubes doing the job. This thing could make the MOTOGP grid in any race while carrying around some 30 pounds more. Judging by its 187 mph top speed at Monza's straight there should close to 200 horsies hiding in there. If memory serves me right, swingarm should be as in the homologation model, the 999R, but it doesn't look so. Just don't tell anybody I told you. The extra-deep wet sump is used to prevent the oil pump from sucking air during acceleration and braking. The 999F03 has the strengthened sand-cast cases which where homologated with the 999R.

In many high-performance situation, riders clamor for higher octane fuels, thinking this will give them additional horsepower and, thus, an advantage over the competition.

But this is not the case-adding higher-octane race fuel to your motorcycle may actually produce less horsepower. Here's why: Octane, an arbitrary number which is calculated as the average of the Research Octane Number (RON) and the Motor Octane Number (MON), and is only an indic ation of a fuel's sensitivity to knock, which is typically pressure-induced self-ignition. (Of these two ratings, MON is more applicable to racing fuels as it is measured under high load and high speed conditions.)

alcohols burn cooler than gasoline, meaning even higher compression ratios are possible with them, for even more power.

Octane, as you can see, is not a measure of how much power-or, more correctly, specific energy-is contained in a fuel. And remember that leaded high-octane race fuels burn slower than most unleaded fuels, and may reduce performance in stock or lightly modified motorcycles. A high octane rating itself, however, does not mean that the fuel is slow burning. Hence, it has no direct bearing on the power characteristics of the fuel.

In many high-performance situation, riders clamor for higher octane fuels, thinking this will give them additional horsepower and, thus, an advantage over the competition.

But this is not the case-adding higher-octane race fuel to your motorcycle may actually produce less horsepower. Here's why: Octane, an arbitrary number which is calculated as the average of the Research Octane Number (RON) and the Motor Octane Number (MON), and is only an indic ation of a fuel's sensitivity to knock, which is typically pressure-induced self-ignition. (Of these two ratings, MON is more applicable to racing fuels as it is measured under high load and high speed conditions.)

alcohols burn cooler than gasoline, meaning even higher compression ratios are possible with them, for even more power.

Octane, as you can see, is not a measure of how much power-or, more correctly, specific energy-is contained in a fuel. And remember that leaded high-octane race fuels burn slower than most unleaded fuels, and may reduce performance in stock or lightly modified motorcycles. A high octane rating itself, however, does not mean that the fuel is slow burning. Hence, it has no direct bearing on the power characteristics of the fuel.

Since the previous Wrenching With Rob, Chemical Soup: The Meaning of Gasoline we've been besieged with questions and comments regarding the combustion process occurring in an engine. In particular, the discussion focused on the problem of detonation, commonly referred to as "knock," which is a very serious and detrimental problem when it occurs - usually the pressures exerted onto the piston top during detonation are much larger (but of a shorter duration, like a pressure spike) than the mean combustion pressure. Nevertheless they are very detrimental to engine life, as the continual high shock loading of the piston, rod, crankshaft and bearings is quite destructive.

Detonation is the result of an amplification of pressure waves, such as sound waves, occurring during the combustion process when the piston is near top dead center (TDC).

The actual "knocking" or "ringing" sound of detonation is due to these pressure waves pounding against the insides of the combustion chamber and the piston top, and is not due to 'colliding flame fronts' or 'flame fronts hitting the piston or combustion chamber walls.'

Let's look in some detail at how detonation can occur during the combustion process:

First, a pressure wave, which is generated during the initial ignition at the plug tip, races through the unburned air-fuel mix ahead of the flame front. Typical flame front speeds for a gasoline/air mixture are on the order of 40 to 50 cm/s (centimeters per second), which is very slow compared to the speed of sound, which is on the order of 300 m/s. In actuality, the true speed of the outwards propagating flame front is considerably higher due to the turbulence of the mixture. Basically, the "flame" is carried outwards by all the little eddies, swirls and flow patterns of the turbulence resident in the air-fuel mix. This model of combustion is called the "eddy burning model" (Blizzard & Keck, 1974).

Additionally, the genus of the flame front surface - that is the degree of 'wrinkling' - which usually has a fractal nature (you know, those weird, seemingly random yet oddly patterned computer drawings), is increased greatly by turbulence, which leads to an increased surface area of the flame front. This increase in surface area is then able to burn more mixture since more mixture is exposed to the larger flame front surface. This model of combustion is called the "fractal burning model" (Goudin, F.C. et al. 1987, Abraham et al. 1985). The effects of this are observed in so-called "Schlieren pictures," which are high-speed photographs taken though a quartz window of a specially modified combustion chamber (Fig. 1, above).

Since the previous Wrenching With Rob, Chemical Soup: The Meaning of Gasoline we've been besieged with questions and comments regarding the combustion process occurring in an engine. In particular, the discussion focused on the problem of detonation, commonly referred to as "knock," which is a very serious and detrimental problem when it occurs - usually the pressures exerted onto the piston top during detonation are much larger (but of a shorter duration, like a pressure spike) than the mean combustion pressure. Nevertheless they are very detrimental to engine life, as the continual high shock loading of the piston, rod, crankshaft and bearings is quite destructive.

Detonation is the result of an amplification of pressure waves, such as sound waves, occurring during the combustion process when the piston is near top dead center (TDC).

The actual "knocking" or "ringing" sound of detonation is due to these pressure waves pounding against the insides of the combustion chamber and the piston top, and is not due to 'colliding flame fronts' or 'flame fronts hitting the piston or combustion chamber walls.'

Let's look in some detail at how detonation can occur during the combustion process:

First, a pressure wave, which is generated during the initial ignition at the plug tip, races through the unburned air-fuel mix ahead of the flame front. Typical flame front speeds for a gasoline/air mixture are on the order of 40 to 50 cm/s (centimeters per second), which is very slow compared to the speed of sound, which is on the order of 300 m/s. In actuality, the true speed of the outwards propagating flame front is considerably higher due to the turbulence of the mixture. Basically, the "flame" is carried outwards by all the little eddies, swirls and flow patterns of the turbulence resident in the air-fuel mix. This model of combustion is called the "eddy burning model" (Blizzard & Keck, 1974).

Additionally, the genus of the flame front surface - that is the degree of 'wrinkling' - which usually has a fractal nature (you know, those weird, seemingly random yet oddly patterned computer drawings), is increased greatly by turbulence, which leads to an increased surface area of the flame front. This increase in surface area is then able to burn more mixture since more mixture is exposed to the larger flame front surface. This model of combustion is called the "fractal burning model" (Goudin, F.C. et al. 1987, Abraham et al. 1985). The effects of this are observed in so-called "Schlieren pictures," which are high-speed photographs taken though a quartz window of a specially modified combustion chamber (Fig. 1, above).

"Krazy" Keith Kardell is world famous for his motorcycle stunt riding antics, including a 12.5 second quarter mile time while riding backwards on his Harley-Davidson Sportster. The following report is Keith's accounting of his world-record-setting run at the Bonneville Salt Flats this past summer in the MPG 1650 class (Modified frame, Push rod, Gas engine) aboard a 1987 Bartels' Harley-Davidson Sportster. Keith and his mechanic, Dave Rivera, have been racing this bike for the past three years at SCTA land speed events on a 1-1/3 mile course at El Mirage dry lake bed in the California desert.

We arrived at Bonneville, Utah, on Saturday August 17th with our Sportster in the trailer.

Soon after arrival, we learned that we could actually make a pass that day (we had originally thought that Saturday was for tech only). The course was holding up great. The SCTA had six different lanes marked out on the salt and even by Tuesday, they still hadn't moved the course from the first lane. These six lanes were for the "short course," three miles from the starting line to the final timing lights. There is also a seven mile "long course" for vehicles going over 200 mph.

As it turned out, SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) was having problems with the timing equipment and they were not able to get times for any of the bikes on Saturday afternoon. Anyway, we had some work to do on the bike, as it was cutting out on the top end. The next day, Sunday, I made two passes. At these events the entry speed is measured at the two mile mark and the terminal speed at the three mile mark. I ran the bike approximately 80 mph for the first mile to save the engine and then opened it up at the one mile mark.

I listen closely to the sound of the engine so I can react quickly by pulling the clutch if I hear any sounds indicating the engine is coming apart. When I finally come to a stop on the return road, I'm stunned at just how quiet it is. I take off my helmet and gloves to wait for the crew to come pick me up and I try to guess at how fast I've gone.As I pass the one mile marker, I'm studying the course surface and concentrating on avoiding debris. At 150 mph, you can get tunnel vision and cannot focus on anything on the side of the course. When I pass the three mile marker, I let off the gas and pull in the clutch. Being careful not to sit up just yet, I reach with my right hand over to the left side of the handle bars and pull the wrist strap kill switch so that later we can get a plug reading. The starter official at the starting line loves to tell stories about riders who have been blown off of their motorcycles because they sat up too soon after passing the last mile marker.

Bonneville salt is very white and the racing lines are made with oil. The salt on the course and on all the roads and in the pits is graded and packed, but when I pull off the course, I'm driving on virgin salt, and it clings to the under side of the bike and packs between the tires and the fenders.

When I finally come to a stop on the return road, I'm stunned at just how quiet it is. I take off my helmet and gloves to wait for the crew to come pick me up and I try to guess at how fast I've gone. Off in the distance, I can hear the roar of the next vehicle coming down the course.

Soon my crew shows up and they've heard the results over the CB radio. Is it a record?

The MPG 1650 class record is 147.524, set the previous year by Bud Greenleaf, a longtime SCTA competitor. We'll keep trying. When we put the bike up on blocks to change the gearing, I set the blocks right under the sump drain fitting and it broke off. We didn't have a spare so the scavenger hunt began. Everybody in the pit area was very helpful and we eventually found one, hours later. After the second pass of the day, I was surprised to see that mph was still climbing at the end of the three mile mark. So we decided to run wide open on all of our following passes. Dave Rivera, our mechanic, bumped the gearing up again. This time to 40/23. But the wind had begun to pick up, and soon officials stopped the runs.

The bike was still cutting out on both of Sunday's passes, so that night at the KOA campgrounds we worked on the bike in the trailer. Dave removed the float bowl and he found some crud in the main jet which we felt could be causing the problem. It may have been caused by old racing fuel which was in our tank since the last time we had the bike out. As we worked in the trailer that night, a rain storm passed through and blew down several tents in the camp grounds. Was the following day's event going to be rained out?

"Krazy" Keith Kardell is world famous for his motorcycle stunt riding antics, including a 12.5 second quarter mile time while riding backwards on his Harley-Davidson Sportster. The following report is Keith's accounting of his world-record-setting run at the Bonneville Salt Flats this past summer in the MPG 1650 class (Modified frame, Push rod, Gas engine) aboard a 1987 Bartels' Harley-Davidson Sportster. Keith and his mechanic, Dave Rivera, have been racing this bike for the past three years at SCTA land speed events on a 1-1/3 mile course at El Mirage dry lake bed in the California desert.

We arrived at Bonneville, Utah, on Saturday August 17th with our Sportster in the trailer.

Soon after arrival, we learned that we could actually make a pass that day (we had originally thought that Saturday was for tech only). The course was holding up great. The SCTA had six different lanes marked out on the salt and even by Tuesday, they still hadn't moved the course from the first lane. These six lanes were for the "short course," three miles from the starting line to the final timing lights. There is also a seven mile "long course" for vehicles going over 200 mph.

As it turned out, SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) was having problems with the timing equipment and they were not able to get times for any of the bikes on Saturday afternoon. Anyway, we had some work to do on the bike, as it was cutting out on the top end. The next day, Sunday, I made two passes. At these events the entry speed is measured at the two mile mark and the terminal speed at the three mile mark. I ran the bike approximately 80 mph for the first mile to save the engine and then opened it up at the one mile mark.

I listen closely to the sound of the engine so I can react quickly by pulling the clutch if I hear any sounds indicating the engine is coming apart. When I finally come to a stop on the return road, I'm stunned at just how quiet it is. I take off my helmet and gloves to wait for the crew to come pick me up and I try to guess at how fast I've gone.As I pass the one mile marker, I'm studying the course surface and concentrating on avoiding debris. At 150 mph, you can get tunnel vision and cannot focus on anything on the side of the course. When I pass the three mile marker, I let off the gas and pull in the clutch. Being careful not to sit up just yet, I reach with my right hand over to the left side of the handle bars and pull the wrist strap kill switch so that later we can get a plug reading. The starter official at the starting line loves to tell stories about riders who have been blown off of their motorcycles because they sat up too soon after passing the last mile marker.

Bonneville salt is very white and the racing lines are made with oil. The salt on the course and on all the roads and in the pits is graded and packed, but when I pull off the course, I'm driving on virgin salt, and it clings to the under side of the bike and packs between the tires and the fenders.

When I finally come to a stop on the return road, I'm stunned at just how quiet it is. I take off my helmet and gloves to wait for the crew to come pick me up and I try to guess at how fast I've gone. Off in the distance, I can hear the roar of the next vehicle coming down the course.

Soon my crew shows up and they've heard the results over the CB radio. Is it a record?

The MPG 1650 class record is 147.524, set the previous year by Bud Greenleaf, a longtime SCTA competitor. We'll keep trying. When we put the bike up on blocks to change the gearing, I set the blocks right under the sump drain fitting and it broke off. We didn't have a spare so the scavenger hunt began. Everybody in the pit area was very helpful and we eventually found one, hours later. After the second pass of the day, I was surprised to see that mph was still climbing at the end of the three mile mark. So we decided to run wide open on all of our following passes. Dave Rivera, our mechanic, bumped the gearing up again. This time to 40/23. But the wind had begun to pick up, and soon officials stopped the runs.

The bike was still cutting out on both of Sunday's passes, so that night at the KOA campgrounds we worked on the bike in the trailer. Dave removed the float bowl and he found some crud in the main jet which we felt could be causing the problem. It may have been caused by old racing fuel which was in our tank since the last time we had the bike out. As we worked in the trailer that night, a rain storm passed through and blew down several tents in the camp grounds. Was the following day's event going to be rained out?

In reality, expansion chambers are built to harness sound waves (created in the combustion process) to first suck the cylinder clean of spent gasses-and in the process, drawing fresh air/gas mixture (known as 'charge') into the chamber itself-and then stuff all the charge back into the cylinder, filling it to greater pressures than could be achieved by simply venting the exhaust port into the open atmosphere. This phenomenon was first discovered in the 1950s by Walter Kaaden, who was working at the East German company MZ. Kaaden understood that there was power in the sound waves coming from the exhaust system, and opened up a whole new field in two-stroke theory and tuning.

An engine's exhaust port can be thought of as a sound generator.

Each time the piston uncovers the exhaust port (which is cut into the side of the cylinder in two-strokes), the pulse of exhaust gases rushing out the port creates a positive pressure wave which radiates from the exhaust port. The sound will be be the same frequency as the engine is turning, that is, an engine turning at 8000 rpms generates an exhaust sound at 8000 rpms or 133 cycles a second-hence, an expansion chamber's total length is decided by the rpm the engine will reach, not displacement. Indeed, the only advantage to this crude pipe system was that it was easy to tune: You simply started with a long pipe and started cutting it off until the motor ran best at the engine speed you wanted. Of course those waves don't radiate in all directions since there's a pipe attached to the port. Early two strokes had straight pipes, a simple length of tube attached to the exhaust port. This created a single "negative" wave that helped suck spent exhaust gases out of the cylinder. And since sound waves that start at the end of the pipe travel to the other end at the speed of sound, there was only a small rpm range where the negative wave's return would reach the exhaust port at a useful time: At too low of an rpm, the wave would return too soon, bouncing back out the port. And at too high of an rpm, the piston would have traveled up the cylinder far enough to close the exhaust port, again doing no good.

Indeed, the only advantage to this crude pipe system was that it was easy to tune: You simply started with a long pipe and started cutting it off until the motor ran best at the engine speed you wanted.

So after analyzing this cut-off straight-pipe exhaust system, tuners realized two things: First, that pressure waves could be created to help pull spent gasses out of the cylinder, and second, that the speed of these waves is more or less constant, though it's affected slightly by the temperature of the air. Higher temperatures mean that the air molecules have more energy and move faster, so sound waves move faster when the air is warmer.

A complicating factor here is that changes in the shape of the tube cause reflections, or changes, in the sound waves: Where the section of the tube grows in diameter, there will be sound waves reflected back towards the start of the tube. These waves will be the opposite of the original waves that they reflected from, so they will also be negative pressure waves.

Aha! The next important discovery was made-by gradually increasing the diameter of the tube, a gradual, more useful negative wave could be generated to help scavenge, or pull spent gasses out of, the cylinder.

Adding Divergent Tubes, which used to be called "Megaphones," to Two-Stroke Pipes Helped Make Useful Power

In reality, expansion chambers are built to harness sound waves (created in the combustion process) to first suck the cylinder clean of spent gasses-and in the process, drawing fresh air/gas mixture (known as 'charge') into the chamber itself-and then stuff all the charge back into the cylinder, filling it to greater pressures than could be achieved by simply venting the exhaust port into the open atmosphere. This phenomenon was first discovered in the 1950s by Walter Kaaden, who was working at the East German company MZ. Kaaden understood that there was power in the sound waves coming from the exhaust system, and opened up a whole new field in two-stroke theory and tuning.

An engine's exhaust port can be thought of as a sound generator.

Each time the piston uncovers the exhaust port (which is cut into the side of the cylinder in two-strokes), the pulse of exhaust gases rushing out the port creates a positive pressure wave which radiates from the exhaust port. The sound will be be the same frequency as the engine is turning, that is, an engine turning at 8000 rpms generates an exhaust sound at 8000 rpms or 133 cycles a second-hence, an expansion chamber's total length is decided by the rpm the engine will reach, not displacement. Indeed, the only advantage to this crude pipe system was that it was easy to tune: You simply started with a long pipe and started cutting it off until the motor ran best at the engine speed you wanted. Of course those waves don't radiate in all directions since there's a pipe attached to the port. Early two strokes had straight pipes, a simple length of tube attached to the exhaust port. This created a single "negative" wave that helped suck spent exhaust gases out of the cylinder. And since sound waves that start at the end of the pipe travel to the other end at the speed of sound, there was only a small rpm range where the negative wave's return would reach the exhaust port at a useful time: At too low of an rpm, the wave would return too soon, bouncing back out the port. And at too high of an rpm, the piston would have traveled up the cylinder far enough to close the exhaust port, again doing no good.

Indeed, the only advantage to this crude pipe system was that it was easy to tune: You simply started with a long pipe and started cutting it off until the motor ran best at the engine speed you wanted.

So after analyzing this cut-off straight-pipe exhaust system, tuners realized two things: First, that pressure waves could be created to help pull spent gasses out of the cylinder, and second, that the speed of these waves is more or less constant, though it's affected slightly by the temperature of the air. Higher temperatures mean that the air molecules have more energy and move faster, so sound waves move faster when the air is warmer.

A complicating factor here is that changes in the shape of the tube cause reflections, or changes, in the sound waves: Where the section of the tube grows in diameter, there will be sound waves reflected back towards the start of the tube. These waves will be the opposite of the original waves that they reflected from, so they will also be negative pressure waves.

Aha! The next important discovery was made-by gradually increasing the diameter of the tube, a gradual, more useful negative wave could be generated to help scavenge, or pull spent gasses out of, the cylinder.

Adding Divergent Tubes, which used to be called "Megaphones," to Two-Stroke Pipes Helped Make Useful Power